It's Not Goodbye, It's See You Later
by HolliePop
Summary: The story unfolds between Kieran Callaghan and Donna Jackson as Kieran goes on his tour around Afghanistan. "It's not goodbye, it's see you later."
1. Chapter 1

It's Not Goodbye, It's See You Later

Chapter 1 – Falling

Kieran Callaghan drove his car up the driveway, got out of his car and knocked on the door which stood before him.

Donna Jackson opened the door, she stood with a shocked expression and a tear formed and fell down her cheek.

"Donna, I have to say goodbye before I go, I can't just leave." Kieran said with a choked voice.

Donna swallowed hard. "Kieran, I can't. Please, just go."

"No. Donna, you have to listen to me. I didn't mean to hurt you; I shouldn't have let it get like this. I didn't know I was going to be called up, I wasn't expecting it."

"You still let me fall in love with you." Donna's tears began to fall more rapidly.

"I fell in love with you too, Donna. Everything I said I meant, about the days out, holidays, everything. It just happened at the wrong time."

"It shouldn't have happened at all! If you knew you had a chance of being called up you should have told me! At least I would have known and made my decision from then, rather than being swept off of my feet and dropped." Donna couldn't stand up any longer, the emotion crashed through her and she slumped onto her stairs, Kieran knelt before her.

"I'm so, so sorry, Donna, but please, don't shut me out. I'm not asking for you to wait for me, but don't just let me go."

"What am I supposed to do? Mia needs me to be strong… I can't just drop everything and wait for you!"

"I'm not asking you too. Just don't forget me. Please."

"Donna looked deep into Kieran's eyes. She knew she loved him and that he was 'the one'. "I won't." She whispered softly.

Kieran couldn't hold back his emotions anymore, he pulled Donna into an embrace and they both exploded into tears. "I love you" He mumbled through tears.

Donna pushed away, held his face in her hands and brushed away a tear. "I love you, Kieran."

"I do have to go though, I can't not go, but I promise you, I will come back and we will spend the rest of our lives together.

"Promise me you will be okay."

"I can't."

"Kieran!"

"I have to fight for what I believe in, I believe in this country and I will do what is right for Queen and country. But I will always have you in my mind, and you will be this first thing I think of in the morning and the last thing I think of before I go to sleep."

The sincerity in Kieran's voice made Donna realise he meant every word he spoke and she felt more assured than she had in the time since she had met him. "How long's your tour?"

"Six months, so I'll be home in the summer."

"We can go on holiday, me, you and Mia."

"Yeah, that sounds amazing!"

"I'll come see you off, when do you go?"

"Half 3, this afternoon."

Donna held back tears once again. "Okay, I'll meet you at the station."

"I'll see you later" Kieran left with a kiss as Donna watched him drive away from her. A single tear fell from her eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**I've really enjoyed writing this story and thank you to Isilarma for your lovely reviews, they have really inspired me. It's a lot harder to write for Donna and Kieran, as there is not as much history between them. My Jac/Joseph stories tend to write themselves, with all the history between them, so this is a new challenge! Please continue to review (: Makes me very happy! Hollie x**

It's Not Goodbye, It's See You Later

Chapter 2 – See you later.

Donna Jackson locked the door to her home and with Mia's hand in hers she walked towards the station.

"Are you okay, Sweetie?" Donna asked.

"Yeah, but why are we going to say goodbye to Kieran?" Mia's sweet voice uttering those words made Donna's heart sink.

Donna did the only thing she knew. "It's not goodbye, Mia. It's see you later."

"So he's going to be coming back?"

Donna knew the risk she was taking, and the risk Kieran was taking. Soldiers and civilians were dying every day in the war and Kieran was putting himself at extreme danger. How could she promise Mia that everything would be alright, that Kieran was going to come home. She couldn't even promise herself. Donna knelt down in front of Mia and held both of her hands. "Mia, you know all of those brave, brave people who have gone away to make us all safe?"

Mia looked slightly confused. "Yes."

"Well, Kieran is going to be one of them."

Mia's face lit up much to Donna's surprise. "Wow! Kieran is brave!"

Donna couldn't help but smile at this. "Yes, Sweetie, yes he is."

"Can we go and see him then?" The anticipation was evident in Mia's eyes.

"Yeah, come on then." Donna said with a smile and a wink.

The walk to the station felt like hours to Donna although in reality it was only a few minutes. Mia and Donna walked onto the platform and saw Kieran stood proudly in his combat uniform. Donna couldn't help but beam with pride and admiration. Kieran ran over to the two of them, picked Mia up, span her around then took Donna into a warm embrace and kissed her gently on the forehead.

"I'm glad you're here." Kieran smiled.

"You are so brave!" Mia squealed.

"Thank you, Mia!" Kieran ruffled the little girls hair and turned his attention to Donna.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Just as long as you contact me whenever you can, promise me that." Donna stared deep into his eyes.

"I promise, I'll write you letters, call you when I can, I'll do whatever I can." Kieran kissed Donna and to his relief, after some hesitation she kissed him back.

"Ewwww, that's gross!" Mia chimed.

"Okay, Mia!" Donna exaggerated.

A train pulled up to the station, the three-thirty from Holby to the base in Exeter. Donna started to cry, as did Kieran. As he picked up his bags and straightened his beret, stepped onto the train and smiled and waved at Donna and Mia.

"Goodbye, Kieran." Donna sobbed.

"Goodbye, Donna, I love you." Kieran croaked.

Mia looked at Donna stubbornly. "It's not goodbye, it's see you later."

Both Kieran and Donna looked at each other, and in a flood of tears they managed to laugh. "See you later!" They both chimed.

A kiss through the train window, a horn from the train and the carriage began to pull away. As the train got further and further away from the station, more and more tears began to fall from Donna's eyes, and a single tear escaped from Mia's eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

**Once again thank you all for your lovely reviews, makes writing that little bit more worthwhile! I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to update this! School is taking over my life at the moment!**

**This is set a month after Kieran left for his tour of duty. I know it's hard too! But ignore the Donna / Kieran storyline that happened… It developed too quickly for me to put my stamp on it!**

**This is set 6 weeks after Kieran left for his tour of Duty.**

Chapter 3 – Face up to reality

The phone on the Keller nurses' station began to ring, since Kieran left; Donna was waiting for the call, the call to tell her that the love of her life was never coming back, that he had been killed by the Taliban. She knew that this was the time. Chrissie answered the phone, and Donna fell to her knees as the colour drained from the Ward Sisters' face.

"_We need to speak to Miss Jackson. Urgently please." _The voice on the other end of line sounded sombre and low.

"I'll just hand you over to her." Chrissie's tone matched that of the voice on the other end of the line. "Donna, come on. You need to talk to them."

"I can't." Donna sobbed. "What if…"

"Well, you won't know unless you talk to them. Come on, Donna."

Donna seemed to understand, but Chrissie found it hard to find any sort of acknowledgement from her. Donna got to her feet and tentatively, grabbed hold of the phone. Trying her best to sound composed, she answered. "Hello."

"Miss Jackson?" The sombre voice continued.

"Yeah, I mean, Yes. I am Donna Jackson. Where's Kieran?"

"Miss Jackson, I'm afraid that Mr Callaghan was seriously injured in a homemade bomb explosion on the outskirts of Helmand. He went into a building to retrieve a fellow soldier who had become trapped in the building after the preliminary bomb had exploded." He paused. "Are you still there, Miss Jackson?"

Torrents of tears fell from Donna's eyes, trickling down her face and onto the phone receiver. Shakily she continued to speak. "So, what… Kieran?"

"Mr Callaghan is being transferred to the nearby military hospital near Holby. He was asking for you. He's in a bad way, you might want to be there for him when he arrives."

"I'm on my way now. I'll be half an hour, will he be there then?"

"He'll be arriving around that time, yes."

"Okay, thank you, good bye."

Chrissie grabbed Donna's arm as Sacha and Elizabeth watched on. "What's happened?"

"He got injured by a homemade bomb. He went to save someone, and he got caught up in the explosion. He's on his way to the Military hospital now. I've got to go there." Donna voice was frantic yet assuring. The adrenaline surging through her body allowed her to do what she needed. "Sacha, can you cover for me? Please."

Sacha had tears in his eyes. "Kieran always did go that little bit further, of course I will. Off you go, just let us know how he is." Sacha put his arm around Elizabeth who was also crying.

"I'll call you." Donna forced a smile before more tears began to fall; she tried to say something optimistic, but couldn't find the words.

As Donna ran out of the hospital her only thoughts were of Kieran, of what he would look like, how he would act. What if he hadn't of gone. Donna cursed herself for not doing more to stop him. She could have been with him now, in the hospital, working, laughing and joking about the future, now she was going to have to see the love of her life, all broken and bruised in some military hospital. The drive to the military felt long and tiring. Her only companions were the terrible thoughts milling around in her head. Terrible thoughts of what she would find when she got to the hospital, would Kieran recognise her, and would he still be able to walk or talk. What lasting damage would there be for her to have to cope and live with. When she arrived at the hospital, an ambulance pulled up outside the entrance, 50 yards from her car. She could hear the trauma team at the doors readying themselves for the casualty that they were about to receive. Then she heard his name, "This is Kieran Callaghan. He was injured on his 6th week of duty. A homemade bomb detonated while he was saving a fellow soldier. We need to work quickly, he's not holding up well." With that statement the doors to the ambulance flew open, a paramedic on top of Kieran trying to resuscitate him. Previously frozen to the floor, Donna ran as fast as she could to Kieran's side. She pushed past the nurse who tried to stop her and held Kieran's hand as she explained who she was. The nurse dragged Donna to one side.

"Miss Jackson."

"Donna. Where are you taking him?"

"We're doing everything we can…"

"Don't talk to me like that. I'm a nurse. I know what that means…"

"Listen, Donna." The nurse persisted. "Let us take care of him; he's in a bad way. But if the statement given by his Sergeant is anything to go by, he's a fighter."

The nurses attempts to calm Donna down were interrupted by the whirr of the defibrillator charging up, and the shrill command of 'clear' echoing through Donna's mind.

**Sorry! But I heart me some cliff-hangers! Please review!**

**Hollie xxx**


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